Friday, October 07, 2016

Newspaper Endorsements

But if just one issue determines who will get your vote for president this year, make it this: Which candidate is competent to do the most important job in the world?

There's only one answer to that question: Hillary Clinton.

The Effingham Daily News editorial board does not typically endorse political candidates for local, state or national office. We break with that tradition in the 2016 presidential race because the stakes are so high and the consequences of the wrong choice are so potentially dire.

We endorse Hillary Clinton.

We do not ask who is the most qualified. Clinton is the only candidate put forth by the two major parties, or any party, who is qualified by any measure to lead this country. Her life on the national and world stage has made it so – agree or disagree about the extent of her success and the depth of her failure.

For us, the choice isn’t between the proverbial lesser of two evils. The choice is between voting for someone committed to a life of public service who has the experience, the intelligence and the temperament to lead the nation versus someone who is committed only to himself, who lies constantly and who regularly displays a lack of self-control.

Throughout this presidential campaign, from the primaries to this moment, Democrat Hillary Clinton has distinguished herself from her opponents by putting forth detailed and realistic policy proposals that answer this county’s most fundamental challenges, from the growing cost of attending college to the addiction epidemic to a woefully inequitable tax system.

The Courant endorses Mrs. Clinton for president. She has the right values for a nation that has seen the evil that hatred does.

She would not indulge bigotry or foment fears. Her self-control — evident on both the international stage and in her direct exchanges with Mr. Trump — would serve her well as the nation's commander in chief. How can someone who launches middle-of-the-night personal attacks, as Mr. Trump did recently, be trusted with the nation's nuclear arsenal?

America needs a president who will lead with reason, not instinct; who will unite, not divide. Mrs. Clinton has, as President Barack Obama said, the compassion and the heart for the job.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first woman ever to win a major-party nomination, is without question the most qualified candidate in the race for president and an easy call to make when considering the challenges confronting the nation. Her nearly 40 years in public life have instilled in her the temperament she needs to face the many challenges that await.

Often in life the pragmatic choice makes more sense than the principled one. When faced with evolving dangers, flawed courses of action routinely are the only ones available. The trick is picking the most credible solution.

Sadly, it has come to this kind of thinking when presented with the major-party nominees for president this election cycle. So much so that serious consideration of a minor-party candidate has been tempting for many objective voters. And for a time, we toyed with supporting a principled protest vote in Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

Donald Trump purports to be a conservative, and he managed to hoodwink enough primary voters to win the Republican nomination. But he is in fact a lewd, bigoted, untested blowhard whose reckless actions and thoughtless decision-making processes put him in a class never before seen on such a stage. A vote for Trump would support an unconscionable threat to core American values and national security.

Clinton has demonstrated courage, strength and resilience — the traits we especially value in a president. She does this not by tweets and talking tough but through unflagging public service through personal and political crises that would crumble an ordinary person.

Trump, in contrast, has never served the public and shows disrespect for most of the people he would lead and the institution he would manage. Under campaign pressure that pales to that of the presidency, he has responded to slights and setbacks with bluster and threats. That demonstrates insecurity, fragility and a shocking lack of inner strength and control.

When you vote for president, the Ventura County Star Editorial Board strongly urges you to select Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump does not have the personal qualities, experience, temperament or values to be president of the United States. More than that, we believe a Trump presidency could be dangerous for the future of this nation, domestically and particularly in our relations with the world.

This is not simply an anti-Trump endorsement. The Star believes Hillary Clinton is extraordinarily prepared to be our next president and would serve with distinction. The Star strongly supports her election.

On the positive side of Clinton's ledger, we would place her long and passionate advocacy on behalf of children; her redefinition of the role of a political spouse; her 1995 declaration to a hostile audience in China that "human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights"; her advocacy for Upstate New York; her dogged fight as senator for health benefits for 9/11 first responders and funding to rebuild Lower Manhattan after the terror attacks; her tireless, if not always successful, diplomacy as secretary of state. It counts for something that Republicans of stature and experience are lining up behind Clinton.

We will not belabor the negatives on Trump's ledger, for you have heard them all before. That he is temperamentally unfit for the presidency is beyond argument. While pandering to voters' fears makes for political theater, it is not a prescription for governing. He offers painfully simple answers to complex problems, all of which tend to disintegrate under scrutiny. Trump doesn't merely want to challenge the status quo; he vows to blow it up. If he accomplishes that, will he be able to put the nation back together again? We have serious doubts.

Through four decades in public life, Clinton has been tried and tested as a leader and proven herself equal to the task.

As the United States senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, she helped 9/11 first responders obtain the health care they needed after they spent weeks inhaling PCBs and other toxic chemicals on the "pile" in Lower Manhattan, as WNYC-FM reported.

Clinton voted for both the Patriot Act and the American war in Iraq. The consequences of those votes will have decades-long reverberations through United States policy. Clinton, however, possesses the maturity to admit that the vote for war was a mistake.

As First Lady, Clinton unsuccessfully fought for universal health care. But her defeat there played a crucial role in the creation of the popular Children's Health Insurance program. It also laid the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama.

As Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, Clinton visited 112 countries and logged almost 1 million miles in the air, breaking the previous record held by Madeleine Albright.

The outcome of 2016 election is clear: the President of the United States will either be a polarizing candidate with no political experience or a seasoned politician whose values are embodied by many of us. America needs progress, but we also need a leader who can progress with it. One of Secretary Clinton’s most powerful qualities is her ability to respond to the country’s current needs and demands. While divisive rhetoric may tear us apart and disillusionment render us to political silence, we are, without a doubt, stronger together. Finding unity in our diversity is crucial to the forward motion of our nation.

In this critical election, we must not be condemnatory and disillusioned in our voting process. Too many members of our generation believe that abstaining from voting or selecting a third-party candidate better aligns with their personal beliefs. However, in doing so, we abuse our privilege, discounting the power of our voices and our votes. Hillary Clinton is not perfect, but holding her to a higher standard of perfection than any other male candidate is an injustice. Communities that do not activate themselves, and do not harness their power and agency perpetuate silence in which the oppressor thrives.

Only one candidate has proven, time and time again, to be a unifier with the willingness and stamina to both bring and keep us together. We, the Editorial Board Staff of The Wellesley News, are with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In fact, as we said months ago, we’re not endorsing ANYONE in the presidential election this year. Not Clinton. Not Trump. Again, not anyone. We think our readers have enough other sources of opinion – some informed and some sadly misinformed – in the presidential race. Since we have nothing of value to add, we’ll stay out of it.

We made the decision at FLORIDA TODAY not to endorse in the presidential race long before we knew who the nominees would be. We informed our editorial advisory board and received general – but not unanimous – agreement.

FLORIDA TODAY is part of the USA TODAY NETWORK of some 109 newspaper sites around the country. We work together as part of the same family on many things journalism related. But just like in most families, we don’t all think or act alike on all things, and that is a good thing. In most years, you'll see Gannett newspapers split on endorsing candidates. Who to endorse - or whether to endorse at all - is a local decision.

So far, not a single newspaper in the country has endorsed Donald Trump.